Works with today
Ecowitt
Carries the sensors' readings to Garzed. Any Ecowitt gateway that reports to the Ecowitt cloud.
Optional at every level - live rain and temperature for rain skips and frost warnings. Without one, Garzed uses the local forecast.
Rachio
A battery valve on any spigot. Garzed fires it in short pulses when an area calls for water.
WeatherFlow
Optional - the same rain-skip and frost role as an Ecowitt station. Pick which station each area reads.
Not yet: Hunter, Orbit and Rachio's other controllers. Soil moisture currently comes from Ecowitt sensors only.
What each piece gets you
Nothing is required. Every row below is a complete, working way to use Garzed, and each piece adds a capability rather than unlocking the last one. Only Full Auto needs both.
Common questions
Can I use Garzed without any smart hardware?
Yes. With no hardware, Garzed is your garden's planner and record: areas and plants, crop compatibility, the planting calendar, harvest projections, the journal, and manual watering logs. What hardware adds: a soil sensor gives you live readings and a measured soil capacity per area; a smart valve adds watering you can run from the app.
What if I already have a Rachio sprinkler controller (or Hunter, Orbit, etc.)?
If it's a Rachio 3, you're set — Garzed fires its individual zones based on each area's soil moisture, and zones with similar plantings can share one sensor by following the zone that has it. That's the one sprinkler controller we support today; Hunter, Orbit, and Rachio's other controllers aren't supported yet, with more on the roadmap.
I already have soil sensors. What does Garzed add?
Garzed learns each area's soil and each plant's dry-down point, so it knows the watering range for that area: whether it needs water, sits comfortably in range, or is at its soil capacity. It keeps adapting from your real soakings and the area's own history, and reads several sensors in one area as a single picture. On Full Auto it then waters each area to match.
Can I use Garzed for just one raised bed?
Yes. Even a single area benefits from moisture monitoring, the calendar, and the bot. You can start with just a sensor (no valve required) and add automation later.
How long does setup take?
If your hardware is already paired in the Ecowitt and Rachio apps, connecting them to Garzed takes about 10–15 minutes — you copy your API keys from each, and Garzed handles the rest. Hardware installation (mounting sensors, plumbing the valve to your hose) is separate and depends on your setup.
Does Garzed work outside the US?
Yes. Setup takes a town name, weather and rain come from a worldwide forecast source at your coordinates, and frost dates are derived from your location's own ten-year history — both hemispheres. Our first member outside the US runs Full Auto in Québec.